Thursday, July 1, 2010

Summer, cubes of ice and...

Shinobi-cha, traditional Japanese way of ice-brewing, is a real test of patience. It can take hours for all the ice to melt - but it definitely is worth it, as the best qualities of tea are even improved and sharpened.

Most suitable for this kind of brewing are high-quality Japanese green teas - it's originally supposed to be used for Gyokuro, but Sencha and Kabuse are great as well.

Still, you can experiment - it's interesting to try also Chinese steamed green teas, for example.

Meng Ding Cui Yu 2010.

All you need is good tea, ice and... patience, a lot of patience.

I'm going to shut myself out of civilization for next five days - with no internet, television or even a proper radio signal.

I've been experimenting more with cold brewing lately. I've had poor luck with Chinese pan-fired greens, so far...the cold water doesn't seem to bring out any of the smoky aromas that I like, although it does bring through other qualities.

Maybe I should try it on some Sencha, I have very little steamed green tea in my cupboard right now though...

About Me

Necessary to say, I'm not a native English speaker (as you have probably already figured out from my entries), so please forgive me my mistakes and limited use of language. Other than that, I am an eternal student deeply appreciating good tea and all joys connected to it. Among my other interests is poetry – apart from reading, I also try to do my best in writing it. Then goes film, which is a big passion of mine as well as my field of study. Naturally, I would like to continue and deepen these interests in the future.